Palm, Star Scientific: Late Day Volume Plays

Several stocks trading near $5 were moving on above-average volume during Wednesday's session.

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Several stocks trading near $5 were moving on above-average volume during Wednesday's session.

PURE Bioscience ( PURE) continued to rally, jumping by $1, or 49.5%, to $3.03, one day after the company said it received U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registration for silver dihydrogen citrate, or SDC, based disinfectant and food contact surface sanitizer. Volume topped 13.85 million shares, compared to the 50-day average daily volume of 139,000, according to the Nasdaq.

Palm ( PALM) surged by 77 cents, or 20.1%, to $4.62 after renewed market chatter of a buyout by PC maker Lenovo, according to several media reports. Volume topped 68.33 million shares, compared to the 50-day average daily volume of 22.38 million.

Star Scientific ( CIGX) dropped by 37 cents, or 12.5%, to $2.58 even after the company announced a collaboration with Roskamp Institute on Beta-amyloid discovery and Alzheimer's Disease. However, traders noted that Star Scientific said the results of preliminary testing do not necessarily translate to human testing, and additional work needs to be completed to determine whether the compound will have significant B-amyloid lowering effects in humans. Volume topped 21.69 million shares, compared to the 50-day average daily volume of 3.33 million.

Zale ( ZLC) rallied by 62 cents, or 21.2%, to $3.55 after a Bloomberg report that the jewelry retailer is in talks with three finalists, including TPG and Golden Gate Capital, to take a stake in the company, citing to three people with knowledge of the situation. Zale may sell a minority stake for about $100 million to $150 million, two of the people told Bloomberg. Volume topped 5.26 million shares, compared to the three-month average daily volume of 2.21 million, according to Yahoo! Finance.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston.

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